Treatment of commodities



Dec. 19, 1939. R. KILLINGsTAD v 2,183,915

l v TREATMENT 0F coMMDITIEs Filed July 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Snet 1 Dea-19, 1939. I R KlLLlNGsTAD 2,183,915

TREATMENT 0F COMMODITIES Filed July 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet? Dec. 19, 1939. R. KILLINGs'rAD TREATMENT oF COMMODITIES Filed July 24, 193s 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 'Patented Dec. l19, .1939

UNI-Teo. STATI-:s

' .'rnirA'rMEN'roF ooMMoDl'rIEs Ralph xuung'staa, New sm'ym, F1a., assigner.' by

mesne assignments, to General American Prc--v cooling Corporation, Chicago, Ill., la. corporation of Delaware Appucandnruiy. 2 4, 193s, semi N11-.92,424

s l (c1. 14e-2oz) 1 This invention relates to the treatment of commodities, and more especially has reference` to the handling of fuzzy fruits' and vegetables preparatory to packing. It finds particular applica-v tion in the treatmentof peacheawhere thefruit tractive than oneon which the fuzz is normally such peaches inthe markets.'

As a consequence, during rainy weather, peaches can not be picked, or at least, if'picked, it is necessary to wait until they'are sufficiently drybefore sending-them through the brushing nchines. During any such waiting period, the peaches frequently spoil due to the rapid develop# ment of vbrown rot, thus making'them unt for present. As a-r'natter o f fact, it is diiiicult. to sell '25. sale. v Even during clear weather this same prob-I lem is encountered in the early part of the day and until the dew onthe peaches has evaporated.

As a result, large losses have beenborne by the peach growers 4and packers in thepast. '30 One of the objects of this invention .is to solve the above-mentioned problem.

Another object of this invention' is to provide a method of treating commodities preparatory to shipping.

.'Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method of treating commodities prior .to brushing, rubbing,po1ishing, or any other treatment of the exterior thereof.

'A still further object of my invention is tore-- 40 move the excess moisture from the surface and fuzz of a peach prior to removal of such fuzz by means of brushing or other similar treatment.

To achieve the above and other important objects, as will appear hereinafter, my invention 1n general residesin subjecting the commodity to a treatment preparatory to packing or shipping.

More specifically, my invention embraces the idea of removing excess moisture from peaches prior to brushing to remove the fuzz from the skin surface. A l

-In thefpreferred form of my invention the peaches are .passed 'through a con'ned area of v such size, and the rateof speed of' the .peaches being so controlled, that theex'cess moisture from the skin surface andin the fuzz is removed; and

then passing such dried peaches through a brush'- f' jing machine where thefuzz is removed from the While the specific process and apparatus may 60 take various forms, there is shown in the accomlI have found to be particularly 'efdcaclous these drawings, in whichcorresponding numerals yFigure 1:

panyiug drawings one speciiic embodiment which refer to the same parts-,-

Figure ,1 is a side elevation of apparatus in operative position to carry out my invention;

Figure 2 is a top view of forthwin Figure 1; Figure 31s a view take'n along the line 3-3 of Figure 4 is a view of the tunnel and conveyor arangement takenalong the line 4--4 -of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of receiving end of the tunnel; Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a modied form of apparatus, in which the fruit passes through a portion of the tunnel by gravity;

' Figure '1 is a. view taken along the line 1--1 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction ofthe arrows;

the. arrangement set" the siighuy` Figure 8 is a view taken along the line 8`3 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

- Most peach packing houses, are provided-with equipment to remove the fuzz from the skin surface off the peaches. This equipment comprises a brushing machine through which the peaches `are passed to` have the fuzz removed, a conveyor to carry the peachesto the brushing machines, and another conveyor at the discharge end of the brushing machine to carry-the peaches to the graders where the, peaches arelgraded as to size and defective peaches 'are removed.

rIt will be appreciated' that my apparatus and process are adapted foroperation in connection with such conventional equipment, and maybe readily .assembled to cooperatetherewith. -It will' be noted that a minimum of space is taken upby my device and that no additional labor, insofar as the handling of the peaches lis concerned, is required. I

In Figure 1 there is indicated diagrammatically a brushing machine designated generallyas l.

As vbest shown in Figure-3, this machine is pro' v vided with a casing 2 in which are-suitably mounted brushes 3.' A belt 4 or other appropriate type of'conveyor is provided in advance the peaches through the brushes. AItwill of course be appreciated that 'any typeof brushing apparatus may be employed.

As indicatedv above, a conveyor is provided to pass the peaches to the brushing machine, and? these conveyors may vary in length and type of construction. In Figure 1 thereis shown a belt conveyor 5 which 'is relatively long, and which is carried by rollers 6 supported upon standards 1.

As also indicated above. a conveyor is .usually 4provided to carry the peaches from the brushing machine 'to the graders- Afconventional type of such conveyor is shown at 8in Figure 1, which is provided which directs the fruit onto the con veyor 5. It will b e appreciated that after the peaches are dumped in the chute- I2, the passage of the peaches to, through and from the brushing machine AI is entirely automatic.

lAs I indicated at the outset, my invention is directedtoasuillcientdryingofanywetor dampfruit to insure a removal ofthe fuasbythebrushing machine. This is preferably accomplished yit passes from the chuteto the brushing machine. I provide a chamber over the conveyor i and brushing machine into which is introduced suitably conditioned air which nofws 'in a direc- 9 tion counter 'to the movementof the fruit toward the brushing machine.' While various types of housing maybe employed, I nd it preferable to use a substantially air-imperviousl flexible cover such as heavy can? vas, designated generally by the numeral AIl.

While the cover fmay bel integrally made up, it may be lconsidered-as having atimnel section Il,

a brushing.machine section Il, and an inlet throat I6.

as best shown in Aiinaviitiife mnnsi v section extends over and down sides of the conveyor and is suitably to the platform 9. 0f course, thesixeand iit ofthe tun' nel section Il may be adjusted as desired, but I 35 have found it preferable tchave the chamber formed by the tunnel 'section extend all the way to the platform 9 anda reasonable distance-'above thevtop of the conveyor. This is accomplished by providing cross arms I'l whichare muuntedv on standards l and which in turn carry seniicircular supports I8 on which the canvas rests.

The entrance eno of'tnesection I sisapereo downwardly from. the top as at I9, and the can-- vas is carried aroundbelow the conveyor to form 5 wings :I which be laced together; 'as aty u.

-This provides a somewhat `constrictesi-opening 23 through which the air from the tunnel. section.

I4 escapes and the peachesirom ltn ecliiite I! pass onto the conveyor i;

coursedesirable to prevent,- or at least reduce to unitto which 70 'that the conditioned air passes uninterruptedly A lIn `Figure 5 there is 'clearly show n guard rails 20 at the'sides of the conveyor aridsimilar rails are provided forthe conveyor from the brushing machine to the graders.

The tunning secunn Is ismitabiy secured in.

a substantially air-tight nt aroundi the casing 2 of the brushing machine .I'as hyjmeans of strip-v ping 24 or any other suitable device. It is of a minimum, the escape of air fromthe section ing'machine casing-2. While `there .may be a chine itself. it will be appreciated that lthis is maintained at aminimum and is' of no signiiicance-the main portion of -the continuing toward the opening i23 of the tunnel section.

The inlet throat It extends from the section I5 to the mou h 25 of asuitableair conditioning ter it is secured in a substantially airltight it. It. will therefore be appreciated from the inlet throat I6 into the section I5 -where it is diverted .toward the tunnel section I4 and passes, in ya direction counter to the travel of the peaches, toward the. mouth 23 of section I4 f Whenv in section- Il, the air has 'aniopportunity I I5 at the points where 'it is secured to the brusn-` to freely passand circulate'over and around the peaches on the conveyor, and I have .found this v circulation sufficient to insure a propei` extracltion of moisture from the fruit.

While the 'air conditioning imit may be of any desired type. I dnd that a portable unit such as disclosed in copending application Serial No.

piicable.` This unit is. mounted uponl a vsuitable truck chassis designated generally 26, provided4 tioning apparatus perseis composed of proper l5 by. subjecting the fruit to a body of cold air whileevaporative condenser elements designated generally 28, and a so-ealled c'old diffuser 2l.` As best showirin 'Figure 3, air from the atmosphere is taken intothecolddifiuser 2! thrcughanair inlet 8l. passes over thev cooling coils ofthe diffuser 2l where the moisture of the air is condensed out,'and thenthecooled and dried air passes throughthe mouth 25 into the throat sec# tion IC.

' rions that .conditioning 'unit' suchy as described in the said application Beria1 No.-39,044

noperates. eiiiciently by cooling and drying air directly from the atmosphere. However, it will Iii! eration may be employed' by mei-ely extending a duct from the mouth f3 of the tunnel-'section I4 back to thev intake 3| :'of the cold diiluser.

the 'brushing machine relatively'-'short. In`

` these figures a conveyorll' extends only a slight be appreciated that if desired'a cyclic op, sa as neretofcre stated, the length and site of the.

I have shownan apdistance in front of the brushing machine -.I.

0f course. the amount offinoisture extractedfrom the fruit depends not onlyupon the temperature,

vor conditiomof the airbt also theperiod oi" time during whichfthe is subjected to .the -s ecxiditioned air.' This last in turn is a function of the length 0f the air chamber. In view'bf this, and where the conveyor is short, .I'

provide an extension on'the chamber through which, the frmt. may rou by gravity. In Figure 6 the tunnel section Il'. is shortened to accommodate-itself to the conveyor 5', and an extension 32 extends from the front end-of section Il'. Extension 3 2 may rest upon a platform 33 which is'inclinesl to the' right degree so that' the fruitwill .rolltdow'n and -onto lthe re`.

`ceiving end of conveyorl 5'. 'nie platform 38 is supported by suitable standards 34 and a chute I2 feeds the fruit into the extension 32..

Ixi Figures 6 through "8 it will be noted that the tunnel section Il' is provided with wings II' and lacings 22' in order 'to closevthefront end of this section, land that the extension 3 2 rests upon and 'is secured to the platform 33.'4 Of course, if desired, the extension 32 may ex- 9. but

:'85 or even no conveyorat is It will be noted that in Figures 6 through 8 I have not shown the supports I8 for the canvas. In this connection it should be stated that the supports I8 are usually not necessary either in the form of device shown in Figure 1 or that shown inFigure 6, for in normal operations 12,000 to 14,000 cubic feet of air per minute are conditioned in the colddiiuser 29. -This volume of airV and its rate of speed is normally such as to maintain the canvas housing in a distended position.

It will be appreciated that the amount of moisture extracted from the fruit when cold air is used, is a function of the temperature of the air to which the fruit is subjected as well as certain other factors such as the speed of the air through the tunnel section and the length of time during which the fruit is sublected'to the conditioned air. Insofar as the temperature of the air is concerned, this may be closely regulated by the control of the conditioning'unit. A

wide latitude in temperature range is-permistemperature of approximately lower than of operation, and may extend from the neighborhood of 25 F. up to slightly below atmos- -pheric. However, I usually nd it preferable to inject the air into the throat section at a the atmospheric temperature.

It is to be understood, of course, that my invention is not necessarily restricted to a process and apparatus in which the air is cooled,

but applies to any situation in which the air is conditioned to extract moisture from the! fuzz andskin surface of the fruit. For instance, under certain circumstances it. may be desirable to merely de-humidify the air without lowering its temperature, and in still other instances it may be desirable to heat the air.

While I have described my invention specifically with reference to an apparatus and process for brushing the fuzz from peaches, it is perfectly obvious that it is not limited thereto. For instance, oranges sometimes are polished prior to cratlng and insuch event my invention is efcacious in removing any moisture that might be present on the skin surface of the fruit. Or, it may even be used where it is merely desired to remove moisture from the skin surface before .wrapping or crating. y In such event appreciable savings in time and handling are effected over what would be necessary, for instance, in storing the produce in a drying chamber prionto packing. In general, this invention iinds application wherever it is desirable to remove excess moisture from a commodity, and particularly where it is desired to remove such moisture prior to any treatment of the commodity to improve its appearance, or any other characteristic.

From the foregoing it is believed that the advantages of my invention will be readily apparent. In the first place, the device and process are capable of operation witha minimum, or no, change in the existing equipment 'now found at pac g houses. The invention possesses great exibility and is adapted for use with various types of packing house equipment. An economy oi' space is eiected and no additional labor in the handling of the fruit is required. Likewise, no additional time is necessitated in carrying out the process. All of this is of major importance, for packing houses are of certain4 capacity usually results -in a loss oi' such excess.

Insofar as the equipment of my invention is concerned, it will be appreciated that it is' of simple and inexpensive structure, can be set up and dismantled with a minimum of effort and time, and in operation only the conditioning unit requires any attention at all.

Of prime importance is the fact that with the insuring a product of the desired characteristics,-

both insofar as appearance and soundness are concerned.

While Il have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction herein set forth, by way of illustration, as it is apparent that many changes and variations may be made therein, by those skilled in the art, without de parting from the spirit of the invention, or exceeding the scope of the appended claims'.

I claim:

,'1.` An apparatusfor treating fuzzy commodities comprising a device for brushing the fuzz from the commodities, a conveyor adapted to pass the commodities toward the brushingdevice and having one end connected with the brushing device, a housing for the brushing device and conveyor, an air inlet adjacent the brushing device and a restricted air outlet adjacent the free end of the conveyor, and an air conditioning unit operatively connected with the air inlet in such a'. manner that chilled air may be introduced at high velocity in a direction Ycounter to the direction of the movement of the conveyor to the brushing device.

2. An apparatus for treating fuzzy commodities comprising a device for removing fuzz from the commodities, a conveyor for feeding commodities to the brushing device, another conveyor for removing the commodities from` the brushing device, a flexible, substantially air-impervious open-ended housing extending over the brushing device and the mst-mentioned conveyor, an air inlet throat in proximity to the brushing device adapted to admiiachilled air to the housing, and a portable air conditioning unit connected to the air inlet housing in such a manner that a stream of chilled air at high velocity may be introducedtp the housing in a direction counter to the direction of the movement of the conveyor towards the said brushing device.

` 8. Amethod of treating fuzzy commodities such as peaches comprising passing said commodities at a predetermined speed along a predetermined path through an inclosed passageway to a certain point, subjecting the'commoditiesduring such travel to a stream of chilled air at a relatively high velocity, regulating the speed of movement of said commodities so that their surface will be thoroughly dried and chilled during such movement, and removing the fuzz upon arrival of the commodities at the above mentioned point, said stream of air flowing in a direction counter t0. the direction of movement of the commodities.

RALPH 

